origami frog

An origamifrog is an outstanding simple example of the art of origami. It is considered to be a beginner-level fold, but offers a clear example of the complexity and beauty potentially available with some of the more complicated origamifolding patterns.

The Meaning of the Frog

In Japanese the noun for frog and the verb for to return are pronounced the same way (kaeru). Thus, it is customary for a geisha to pin a paper frog to a pillar after entertaining a favorite patron, in the hope that he would return.

Step 2: Unfold the paper, then repeat the above step, except fold the upper left corner of the paper down and to the right so that it forms a right triangle, like so:

_
/|
/ |
/ |
/ |
/ |
/ |
-------+
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Step 3: Unfold the paper again. There should be a point in the middle where the two folds have crossed each other. Turn the paper over and take the top of the paper and fold it down, with the fold crossing through this point, leaving your paper like this:

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| |
| |
| |
+------+
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Step 4: Unfold the paper once again. You should now have three fold lines, two diagonal and one horizontal, that go through a single point in the middle of the paper. The diagonalfolds, however, should be a depression where the horizontal one stands upwards. Lifting upwards on the two sides of the horizontal fold will cause the paper to fold in on itself and the two corners to fold inside, resulting in a shape like this:

\ /
\| /\ |/
- / \ -
/ \
/ \
+------+
| |
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Step 5: Your flat paper should feature a triangle shape at the top as depicted above, and this triangle shape should have two "wings" at its top. Take the rightmost wing and fold it so that the wing tip meets the peak of the triangle, like so:

/|\
/ | \
/ | /\
/ |/ \
+-------+
| |
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Step 6: Repeat step five with the other side, folding the left wing up until the point of the wing meets the top of the triangle. This should give a shape like this:

/|\
/ | \
/\ | /\
/ \|/ \
+-------+
| |
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Step 7: Now, fold the right edge over until it meets the middle line, resulting in an overall shape like this: